Peralta lifts El Tricolor to vital victory

NATAL, Brazil – With torrential rain pouring down and two goals already contentiously disallowed, tens of thousands of soggy but boisterous Mexico fans were getting nervous.

They had already started chanting for Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, the striker benched in favor of Oribe Peralta, to come on and deliver a game winner.

Seconds after the chant began, Peralta scored in the 61st minute to help Mexico to a 1-0 victory Friday and the three points it needed to have any chance of advancing from a tough Group A at the World Cup.

Peralta’s goal gave Mexico its first win over an African team at the World Cup and justified coach Miguel Herrera’s faith that he could deliver on the biggest stage in the world.

A non-factor most of the first half, Peralta broke the deadlock with his left foot after Cameroon goalkeeper Charles Itandje parried Giovanni Dos Santos’ attempt from the edge of the area.

The goal relieved the pressure that had been building steadily after Dos Santos had two goals disallowed in the first half, frustrating the Mexican team that was controlling the game with its speed and ball possession.

CHILE 3, AUTRALIA 1CUIABA, Brazil – Alexis Sanchez produced a dynamic performance to lead Chile to a 3-1 win, scoring one goal and setting up another for one of the dangerous outsiders in the tournament.

Chile threatened to run away with the game in muggy Cuiaba when Sanchez poked home from close range in the 12th minute, before setting up Jorge Valdivia barely a minute later for the playmaker to finish from the edge of the area.

Brazil police detain 11 protestors in Salvador

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police say 11 protesters were detained in the northeastern city of Salvador during a small protest against the World Cup soccer tournament.

A group of about 100 protesters in the city of Salvador — where the Netherlands beat Spain 5-1 on Friday — tried to march toward the FIFA Fan Fest viewing area.

Before the protesters could get within several blocks of the Fan Fest area, police opened fire with stun grenades and tear, halting their march.

Viewership of tournament opener up 8 percent in US

TV viewership of the World Cup’s opening game was up 8 percent over 2010, due to increased interest in ESPN’s English-language telecast.

The Nielsen company said Friday that 9.5 million people in the U.S. watched Brazil’s tournament-opening victory over Croatia, compared to the 8.8 million who saw Mexico take on South Africa in 2010’s first game.

Univision’s Spanish-language audience of 5.1 million was down from the 5.9 million who watched in 2010. That’s not a surprise, given the game four years ago involved Mexico, and a large percentage of Univision’s audience is of Mexican descent.

Beckenbauer banned for snubbing Qatar probe

Germany great Franz Beckenbauer was banned from football for 90 days by FIFA on Friday for not cooperating with an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer said he was surprised by news of the ban and that he had only received the questions in complicated legal English.